It's All About Prejudice
by Jewell Trim
Summary: Sasha is the new girl in town with hopes of being loved by all her neighbors. She loves her new neighbors including Dylan and his sister Aidan. Her best friend, Oliver however is sent by her father to ruin everything and make her return home to the city. A little gender bend and changed names. Darcy/Lizzie Bingley/Jane in the genders they are in in the story
1. Chapter 1

Aidan looked up from her place in her book. Outside the treehouse window was a moving truck followed by a car going down her street. They turned at the corner and disappeared out of sight. She wondered if the house on the next street over had been bought.

She climbed down the ladder and walked across the yard to the garage door which was slightly ajar. Inside was her father who was seated in a beat up recliner. He had turned the garage into a man cave a few years ago to escape from his wife and children when their silliness was too much for him.

"Aidan, is your mother calling for me?"

"Not yet, but I think she will soon."

Her father looked up.

"I think the house on Riverview street was bought. A moving truck just went down our street."

"Oh dear, should they know what to expect?"

"Mom is probably already over there."

Her father chuckled, "Well your mother is very eager to welcome and find new people to judge. I have no doubt she is over there right now welcoming them into the neighborhood." Her father lifted his magazine back up, "We will undoubtedly hear about it by dinner tonight."

Aidan kissed her father on the head before she continued into the house.

Inside her older brother, Dylan was cleaning the kitchen while her younger siblings, Xavier and Harriet were busy scramming to finish an assignment for class due the next day.

Dylan smiled at his sister.

"You were gone for a long time. Reading Pride and Prejudice again?"

"Actually it was Emma." Aidan put her hands on her hips in defense.

Dylan raised his hands and pretended to back off, "Oh sorry, I forgot you read things unrelated to Darcy and Elizabeth."

Aidan pursed her lips together and pivoted to the fridge.

"Mom visiting the new neighbors?"

"Yeah, she left a little while ago."

"So we should expect her back by six at night or we might have to pick her up at the police station."

"Aidan, mom isn't going to be thrown in jail. She might come off strong, but she isn't as bad as Dmitry, your stalker."

Aidan inwardly shivered, "Yeah, no one can beat him. He's on a whole different level."

Just then, the front door burst open and their mother came in. The twins stood up in anticipation of the news.

Their mother, Mrs. Bailey, walked over to the closet and set her hat inside. She went to the kitchen then to get a glass of water. All the while, the twins followed her around asking about the new neighbors.

"Well, mom, what do they look like?" asked Xavier.

"What are their names?" asked Harriet.

In the living room when she was seated, Mrs. Bailey began to relay what she had seen.

"It's a single women around Dylan's age. Very pretty indeed. She is here for grad school and is studying Psychology. She has a wonderful sense of humor and is outgoing. I made sure to invite her the neighborhood block bash."

Harriet lost interest as soon as she heard their new neighbor was a female. Xavier zoned out after he learnt that the new female neighbor was six years older than himself.

"We always get a bunch of old people in the neighborhood, we need younger people to liven things up a bit."

"I think having new neighbors can liven things up no matter their age." Dylan smiled and went back to cleaning the dishes.

Later that night when everyone was in their rooms, Aidan knocked on Dylan's door. She heard a muffled sound and she entered. Her brother was on his computer skyping Isaac.

Isaac was a good friend of Dylan and grew up in the same neighborhood as the Bailey's until three summers ago when they had to move. The friends however kept in touch and were as close as ever. Aidan would more often spend time with the boys then other girls. She grew up to be quite a tomboy and was better than both the boys in football and soccer.

"Hey, sorry to interrupt you guys." Aidan said as she pulled up a chair next to the computer.

"No problem, we were just talking about the block bash."

"Is your family coming?" asked Dylan.

"Yeah, your mom told mine so there's no way we won't be attending."

"That'll be great, I can show off my new moves in volleyball. I've been practicing my spike."

"Yeah, me and Dylan were going to hold off on the sports for the beginning part of the party." Said Isaac apologetically.

"Why?"

"I heard you guys have a new neighbor and Dylan is going to introduce me."

Aidan laughed, "How is my brother going to introduce you to someone he doesn't know, and he is so shy that you will probably be doing all the introducing."

"That hasn't happen since high school, I've changed since then."

Aidan put a hand on her brother's shoulder and only shook her head, "No, you haven't, the only thing you have changed is that you've turned into a robot when around girls you like."

"Have not."

"Sorry Dylan, but you kinda did that with the girl at the store last month." Isaac laughed.

"Whatever."

"So you're doing volleyball again this year, Aidan?" asked Isaac.

"Yeah, I've been practicing with some friends over the school year and even joined an intramural's team."

"Then of course you are going to do better than us. We were too busy with school trying become famous."

Aidan shook her head at Isaac, "You still need to enjoy school life because you'd be missing out on the important part, 'life'."

"Still working towards being a writer?" asked Isaac.

"Yes, are you still trying to be a director."

"Ouch, I'm almost there. I have a few people who like my work which is a good start."

"That's just a hard job to get in this industry. It's really competitive."

"That's weird coming from someone who is very competitive."

"Well you guys aren't competitive."

"Hey, this is our dream job. We won't let anyone walk over us."

Aidan looked at her brother who was laughing uneasily. Her brother was too nice to fight even for the last piece of dessert. How was he going to make it in an industry that had so much stress with no guaranty of a job in the future.

"Well I'll leave you two alone. Can't wait to see you this weekend, Isaac."

"Alright, see you later kiddo."

Each year the city, Oak park would hold their annual summer bash to begin the summer break. Families would bring their young children in wagons while the older children rode their bikes.

Aidan's family set up camp near the base of a tall tree so their mother could sit in the shade. The younger Bailey's ran off to sign up for competitions while Aidan and Dylan waited with their parents for Isaac's family to show up. It was decided two days ago, that their families would sit together and share the food that was to be brought.

When Isaac arrived with his younger siblings, Dylan and Aidan went ahead to meet them.

Aidan gave Isaac a big hug. He was a good foot taller than herself and was slender.

"I hope you came prepared to eat," joked Aidan, "our mom is determined to put some meat on those bones of yours."

"Then I better wait until your brother and sister ate a couple of servings before I start." Laughed Isaac. "So Dylan, where is these mysterious neighbors you told me so much about?"

"Mysterious?" questioned Aidan, looking at her brother.

"I only said that because Xavier and Harriet were trying to discover more about the new neighbors, but they could never get a glimpse of them, so I called them mysterious."

"I still don't know what they look like."

"Well you will today. There they are over there." Said Dylan with a slight nod of the head over to the main tent.

There was a young woman who had a good humored smile. She looked very pretty with her hair done in a messy ponytail, a plain white crew neck, and jean shorts. Her hand was on the shoulder of a taller man who stuck out like a sore thumb. He was dressed in a black dress shirt and jeans.

"Is that her boyfriend?" asked Aidan.

"Not that I know of." Replied Dylan, "Should we go and introduce ourselves?"

"You guys go ahead, I need to sign up for volleyball before it closes."

Aidan ran passed the tent and over to a little table set up for sport sign ups. There were quite a few options since last year that were new. Unfortunately most of them took place at the same time so she couldn't play more than three different games.

She decided on soccer, flag football, and volleyball. Her first game would be football which was followed by soccer and then volleyball.

While Aidan ran over to the field for football, the boys went over to introduce themselves to the new people.

Dylan smiled as he approached the tent. The woman also smiled as he approached and offered a hand to shake.

"Hello, I just wanted to welcome you into the neighborhood. My name is Dylan Bailey and this is my friend Isaac Robin."

"Sasha Graham, it's nice to meet you. Your mother came to visit earlier this week."

"Yes, she loves to welcome new neighbors."

"Well tell your mom that I love her cookies."

Dylan nodded and was about to turn around and leave when Sasha spoke up again.

"Sorry, my friend here is a little people shy, this is Oliver Weston."

Dylan gave a smile and offered his hand, but Oliver didn't take it until after receiving a nudge in the side from Sasha.

"So what is it that you do?" asked Oliver. He sounded if making small talk was almost painful for him.

"Right now I'm a student studying to become a director. Me and Isaac want to make movies."

"Interesting." His words sounded as if he wasn't impressed.

"Well I love it." Sasha said with a defiant look at Oliver. "So tell me Dylan, have you made any movies yet?"

"Only at school."

"What type."

"I do romance comedy mostly."

"You'll have to let us see one sometime."

"Of course, and sometime, I would love to introduce you to my sister. She is playing in one of the sports games right now I think."

"Well when she is done you must bring me to her. In the mean time would you like to dance?"

"Sure." Dylan said while blushing a little.

The two walked off to the dance floor, leaving Oliver to stand at his spot and watch. He watched for a few minutes before he got bored and decided to walk around.

He decided to see if he could find Dylan's sister. If she was anything like her brother, she would hardly be an interesting person to converse with. Oliver walked around the game fields trying to figure out which was sister to Dylan. He tried the badminton court and then tennis, but couldn't find anyone who looked like the young man.

Giving up, Oliver decided to go back over to Sasha. Crossing a field, he heard his phone vibrating in his pocket. Oliver pulled out his phone and pressed the receiving button. He had to cover his other ear because people began yelling. He looked over to a group of people who were making gestures at him. He brought the phone down from his ear and tried to understand what they were saying. Suddenly Oliver felt the air knocked out of the chest and someone land on top of him.

"Sorry about that." Came the voice of a female.

Oliver looked and saw that this woman was dressed in a t shirt with cut off sleeves and running shorts. Her hair was in a ponytail and she was covered in mud and grass stains.

She offered a hand to him to help him stand back up but he stood up by himself. He checked for bruises and was disappointed to see he got dirt on his shirt.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yes, no thanks to you."

The woman opened her mouth to say something, but Oliver never got the chance to hear it.

"Aidan, come on we need you out here." Came the voice of another woman on the field.

"Coming!" she called. The woman gave one last look at Oliver before she turned and ran back on the field.

Oliver stalked back to the main tent where Sasha and Dylan had sat down and were talking.

"Olie, Dylan and I were just talking about seeing the movie, "Best of Me"."

"I didn't know you wanted to see that movie." Said Oliver.

"Well of course not with you. You would critique the whole movie."

"If that's the case, my sister should come. She loves a good debate."

"Sounds like is very opinionated." Laughed Sasha.

"She can be on certain points. She sticks to her beliefs and can hardly be persuaded. You have to be really special to make her change her opinion."

"When will I get the chance to meet her?"

"We can walk over to find her if you wish. She should be over by the fields."

They all began to make their way over to the fields and stopped at the edge. Dylan pointed his sister out to them as the girl wearing a t shirt that had cut off sleeves and running shorts. It was the same girl that had collided with him earlier.

After sacking the man from earlier, Aidan tried to watch out for anyone who was not wearing a flag. It really wasn't her fault that he crossed the field right when she made that jump catch and land on top of him. He shouldn't have been on the field in the first place, and what was up with him wearing a dress shirt to a block party. He looked like he was supposed to be attending an elegant dinner. At the end of her game, she saw her brother waiting at the sideline with a woman. Aidan gave a huge grin and jogged over to where they were at, but to her astonishment, the man in the black dress shirt walked up behind them. Aidan's face fell for a moment as she just got to where they were waiting for her.

"Did you have fun?" asked Dylan.

"It would have been more fun if you were out here, but I see you had better company."

"Sports really aren't my thing." Admitted Dylan, "So this is Sasha, she is the new neighbor in the street over from us."

"Hi, my name is Aidan." Said Aidan offering a hand to Sasha who took it.

"And this is her friend Oliver." Dylan added.

Aidan gave a slight head nod towards Oliver. The taller man made no attempt at conversation and so Sasha decided to pick one up.

"So Aidan, love your name."

"Thanks, my father gave it to me. Mom chose Dylan's name and dad chose mine, and so on with my other siblings."

"Did your father think you were a boy at first, or did he not care and decided to name the child whether it was a boy or girl?"

"As rude as a comment that was, I will answer it. Aidan is a unisex name so it didn't matter the gender. He also thought names like Elizabeth, Hannah, Claire, and Anne were too common so he gave me a name that was less used."

"So," Sasha said, trying to turn the conversation back to herself, "you like football?"

"I like many sports; soccer, volleyball, swimming, lacross, rugby, football."

"That's really impressive, so that means you're better than half these boys out here."

"I've had some losses in arm wrestling before, yes, but it didn't happen without me giving 110%."

"What she means is, she's broken and fractured bones trying to prove she is stronger." Dylan explained.

"Are you looking to join the army?"

"No, I actually want to be an author."

"Really?" asked Oliver. He looked surprised.

"Something about that you find unbelievable?"

"You just don't seem like a writer."

"And what is that, intelligent looking. Dressed in black with a rod up my—"

"Okay, why don't we go over to mom and dad for lunch."

Aidan stalked off to the tree where the blanket was already set and her father was laying down with a book.

"What, did the games end badly, did someone score on the other team?"

"No, the new neighbor's friend is a tool."

"Oh really, did he make some comment on your person?"

"Sort of, he thought it was strange that I wanted to be an author. Something about the way I dress."

"What about the way you dress? You dress like you were playing a game."

"Exactly, he probably thinks that everyone needs to dress to the occupation they want or have all the time. Where's the individualism in that?"

"Sounds like you've met an interesting man."

"You can hardly call him interesting. I bet he drinks a protein drink every morning."

Her father chuckled and they talked on until the events began to end and families began to start packing up.

When the Baileys reached their house, Aidan went up to her room, grabbed her laptop and threw herself onto her bed. She flipped it open and her blog appeared.

Today I met the biggest douche bag to ever breathe. I never thought one exist that was so infuriating, but apparently they do. There I was minding my own business playing a game of football when he came slammed right into me. I mean what idiot walks onto a field where people are playing and is on their phone. Can I please talk about what he was wearing, did he think this was a cocktail party. No, this is a block party where people get wet, get dirty, get prizes, and eat amazing food.

He hovers over his friend like some creep. He probably has no one else who would let him linger around him. If it couldn't get worse, he makes a comment on my career based on my dress. I'm sorry if wearing cut offs is too much for your brain to handle, but I'm not going to be wearing a dress or a suit in 98 degree weather.

This has been The AidinBay follow on twitter and Facebook.

A/N: You are all wondering why I didn't continue the other and why this has similar parts. I decided not to give them similar names and change things round a little. Bare with me. Tell me what you think and as always, I love reviews.


	2. Chapter 2: Dinner at the Baileys

"So Oliver, what do you think?" asked Sasha from her place on the couch.

"The people are pretty boring, nothing special about them."

"What about Dylan and his sister, Aidan?"

"A total softy, you would walk all over him."

"Well I think he can be a great friend."

Oliver only shook his head as he settled down in his chair with his newspaper. Sasha continued to watch him until he lowered the paper.

"What?"

"I asked you what you thought about Dylan and Aidan."

"She's hardly worth talking about."

"I sincerely doubt that. I saw you studying her at the park."

"Only because she and her brother seemed to have each other's characteristics."

"She's a tomboy that's all."

"At her age? She needs to give in to the fact that it's not working nor is it attractive."

"I'm pretty sure she wasn't thinking she had to be attractive during a football game."

"And what is up with that? Does she need to play contact sports like football. It's a guy's game."

"Excuse me, I played football in high school."

"That was powderpuff and that was completely different. This girl was playing tackle and with boys."

"She wasn't the only one out there. I saw other girls."

"And that's why I think something is wrong with this place."

"I thought you said it was boring."

"Well the older adults hold no conversation. The young adults are just crazy."

"I think it's a refreshing change."

Oliver rolled his eyes and was rewarded with a pillow thrown at him.

After he was finished helping Sasha unpack her things and get settled in, he would be back on the road to the city. Oliver wished he had done a better job at trying to persuade his friend not to move to the suburbs. Sasha was a city girl her whole life and then she suddenly decided that she wanted to move to the suburbs.

Her whole family tried to persuade her to stay, he couldn't help but help her if this was her decision. If he found the neighborhood unsafe, then he would find a way to take her back with him. The benefit of having Sasha not in the city, would mean her older sister would have no reason to come and visit him because she couldn't tag along with her sister when she came over.

Sasha wasn't that far from him, only an hour away.

He looked up and saw that she had fallen asleep already. Sighing, he got up and put a blanket around her. Now it was time for him to start his work. Yes he was here to as a friend, but her father hired him to protect her from any threats that may appear.

He figured he could ask some of the people around the area, and if any of them seemed like a possible threat then he would follow through with his job and take her back. The only problem was that he wasn't eager to start talking to town gossips and hear information that he didn't want to know.

Sasha was invited to a dinner with the Bailey family for the following week. So far, every neighbor was excited to have her over as much as she wanted to be known by them.

"Oh Ollie, I wish you weren't going back to the city this weekend. If you stay a bit longer, I'm sure that the neighbors would be happy to include you into the invitation."

They had been rearranging her bedroom for the third time that week and Oliver was feeling worn out.

He loved his friend, but her indecisive behavior always tired him out. Her proposal to stay was also the fifth time she brought it up. She could tell she was excited, but also that she was nervous on being alone.

Staying however was not an option, or at least with her knowledge. He could stay at a hotel and do his job from afar. Sasha never pressed him to tell her what his job was, but having her find out that he was a bodyguard, more importantly her bodyguard sent by her father would destroy their friendship. She would see him as spying on her and her neighbors and not see that it was all meant to make sure she was safe.

"Ollie?"

"Yeah, what?" He asked, focusing back on Sasha.

"I was talking about you staying."

"I would only get in the way, besides your neighbors want to meet you not me."

"But I want them to meet you. Having my best friend along will make me feel easier."

Oliver calculated in his head how he could stay with her and still do his job.

"Please Ollie." She begged with her puppy dog face.

"Sure." He said before he knew it. Oliver cursed in his head for not thinking things through before he agreed to stay.

Sasha was too eager rushing through the house trying to make up his room. It was the futon that he'd been sleeping on for the past week which had been fine for him, but she was already on the phone finding out the nearest store that sold beds.

Ooooo

Aidan tosses another balled up piece of paper behind her in frustration.

"Aidan!" came her mother's voice from the other room, "please stop throwing trash on the floor. You're too old for that!"

Too angry to even bothering to reply, Aidan began to pick up her several pieces of paper she had discarded and tossed them into the recycling bin. She packed up her things and went to her room, shutting the door behind her.

A soft knock came and Dylan poked his head in.

"You okay?"

"Ever since meeting that douche bag I've been having writer's block."

"You seriously want to blame one guy making a comment on your clothes the reason you can't write?"

"He didn't only insult my clothes, he insulted me and my choice profession."

"Well I'm sure he is excited that you are still thinking about him." Dylan said with a grin.

"If you want to continue making jokes like that then you can get out."

"Sorry, but you must think it's a little ridiculous too to dwell on what someone says. You usually would ignore those type of comments, or at least shut them up by saying something yourself."

"That's just it. I didn't have much of a comeback. I lost to some stranger and will never be able to redeem myself. Just for that I will never lose to anyone ever again." Aidan declared.

"What do you mean you won't see him again?"

"The douche bag is probably back in the city sipping expensive wine with his rich buddies."

"Uh no, he is still here actually."

"What!?"

"Yeah Sasha asked if he could come to dinner too. Apparently he is staying a little while longer."

"AW YESSS!" Exclaimed Aidan with more excitement then Dylan expected.

"Wait, I thought you'd be upset he was still here?"

"What, no, and miss the opportunity at revenge and redemption."

"Is that all?"

"When is the dinner? I must know so I can prepare myself."

"Tuesday."

"Dylan, you've just cured my writer's block."

"I told you you didn't have writer's block." To himself he said, "Your mind was just distracted thinking."

The day of the dinner with Sasha and her friend finally arrived.

Aidan had worked hard to make herself ready for this moment. She had pulled three all-nighters in a row and kept her hair in a messy bun.

When she arrived in the kitchen before the guessed arrived her mother was upset.

"Aidan, have some sense girl and clean yourself up. You look like you haven't slept in days."

"I haven't mom and that's the whole point."

Her mother looked puzzled but was prevented from asking by the sound of the doorbell.

Aidan's heart began to race. This was what she'd been waiting for; to see the look on his face.

Oooo

Sasha and Oliver arrived at the Bailey's house a few minutes before six. Sasha was too eager to talk to Dylan again that she made Oliver drive over early.

As they were welcomed into the house by one of the younger Bailey girls, Oliver decided to start the work on analyzing the whole family.

None of them he realized early were a threat to Sasha, but her father would no doubt want her to connect with people who would not be a bad influence on her.

The girl who opened the door, who they found out later was Harriet showed them into the front room where some of the other family was at.

Harriet sat next to the boy who looked alike in facial appearance. His name was Xavier and Oliver later found out was an exact copy of the other. The twins did everything together and did mostly what the sister wanted to do.

They were currently looking at some magazine and whispering things to each other and laugh at what the other had just said.

Dylan arrived and shook hands with both guest. His smile as directed at both, but his eyes were on Sasha.

"I hope you found our house alright." He said, trying to start a conversation.

"We only live a block away, I doubt they had trouble." Snorted Harriet.

Dylan's face reddened and he stumbled to make words.

"We found it fast enough, we didn't want to get lost so we left early and therefor arrived earlier than we were expected." Said Sasha, feeling sorry for Dylan.

"Oh, I'm glad you're early, I mean we all are. We can talk before dinner. Not that we can't when we eat. Would you like to sit down?"

Sasha nodded and they all sat. Sasha continued to talk to Dylan, leaving Oliver to let himself observe his host.

He could hear the mother in the kitchen finishing up last minute preparations. The father he still hadn't met or even seen yet. The oldest daughter, the football player, as he called her was still not present.

Mrs. Bailey soon came in and announced that the food was ready. The twins were the first to get up and dart to the table.

Oliver followed behind Sasha and Dylan.

Seated at the head of the table already was Mr. Bailey. He stood when the guest came in and shook their hands ad introduced himself.

They all sat down and were about to pray over the food when Dylan said that Aidan wasn't down yet.

"Well go get her then and tell her to hurry up." Said Mrs Bailey.

Dylan went up the stairs and came down a minute later with a sleepy Aidan.

"That's what you get for staying all the time. It's not good for your health." Called her mother as Aidan took the only vacant seat which was next to Oliver.

Oooo

So far Aidan's plan had taken an unexpected turn for the worst. She wanted to make a grand entrance as everyone was sitting down at the table, but sleep had taken ahold of her and she fell asleep at the top of the stairs.

Now she was groggy from being asleep and woken up. Aidan never considered this in her plan, and now she lost any pleasure of seeing the douche bag who was probably laughing at her.

She slipped into her chair and their dad prayed over the food.

Aidan was expecting a comment out Oliver, but he never talked to anyone. He didn't even make any comment on her appearance. All he did was eat and keep to himself.

Feeling it was her job to get him to talk, she decided to start a conversation with him.

"So, do you plan on staying in the neighborhood much longer?"

He made no answer and she asked again.

"I heard you, but I was trying to decide if I should answer your question since Sasha is too busy to answer it."

"I was talking to you." She said with a frown.

"Then if you had addressed me by name then I would have answered you."

Aidan felt exasperated. Even the little he did say seemed to aggravate he.

He turned and gave a smile that she would've taken as charming if it wasn't for the fact that he was teasing her and was smiling at her expense.

She accepted his challenge, "So Omar, are you continuing in the neighborhood for long?"

The man choked on a piece of bread and did a cough laugh. Lizzie frowned again.

"I will be staying a bit longer, yes." He finally said.

"What do you find so amusing?"

"You." He admitted.

"This is what a normal writer looks like. We have deadlines to make and work hard to get published."

He laughed again, "I know, Ms Bailey. That is why you are funny."

"I don't get your sense of humor, and I really wonder who does."

"First of all, my name is not Omar. If you don't know someone's name then ask. It's less embarrassing than saying the wrong name. Secondly, you're representation of a writer could be considered invalid. Not all writers look the way you have tried to embody. The ones you closely represent are writers with another book in mind. You look like a procrastinating student studying for a final than a writer."

Aidan had blushed when she heard his name wasn't Omar, but after he continued on to her interpretation of a writer, all her embarrassment was done away.

"If I wanted to say your name or even know your name then I would've taken the time to learn it."

"And if you wanted to challenge me you had better learn the name of the person you wish to challenge don't you think?"

"Knowing your name would only show that I bothered to learn it."

"But I think you do know it. How else would you've known It started with an 'O'."

Dylan interrupted their conversation by asking if they were done so he could take their plates.

When she had finished handing the dishes over to her brother and turned her attention back to him again he was too busy talking to Sasha.

So far the score was 3 to 0 with him leading. He had won this round and she supplied him with the fuel. She however was determined to win while she had home court advantage.

A/N: Don't hate me for stopping in the middle of dinner. The story will continue after the intermission.


	3. Chapter 3: A Glimpse into Acting

After dinner Mrs Bailey pressed Sasha and himself to stay longer. Sasha was willing which left Oliver to yield to her request.

He actually didn't mind the delay in their departure. Aidan had been an interesting companion at dinner. The fact that she called him Omar was funny enough, but she pretended to be a writer by pulling all-nighters was hard not to laugh at.

She was probably readying herself to pick another fight as they sat after dinner.

Dylan and Sasha sat at one side of the room facing the television. The football game was on but they were wrapped up in their own conversation to see it. The younger Baileys left after dinner to go out with friends, and the father sat down in his chair silently watching the game.

Aidan came in after helping Mrs Bailey in the kitchen. Her hair was in a neat ponytail now and her face determined as she sat on the floor, facing the game.

There was a spot on the couch for her to sit in next to him and he smiled at her move.

"You know you can sit up here right?"

She didn't say anything and he nodded to himself, "Ms Bailey, did you want to sit on the couch?"

"That would require for me to sit next to you which I will gladly pass up."

"But wouldn't it look weird if you sit on the floor when you can sit on the couch?"

"I would rather be weird."

"I see that is your theme."

"Do not pretend to think you know me after meeting me twice."

"I will try not to considering that you will not take the trouble of even knowing my name. However, knowing people and knowing their intentions is something that I take an interest in."

"Why?"

"If I told you then you would know me better which I think is what you were trying to avoid."

Aidan turned fully around, "True, but one must know their opponent."

"Opponent! Should you at least know your opponent's name?"

"I have a name for you."

"May I ask what it is?"

"You may," she turned back to the screen again, "but that doesn't mean I'm going to tell you."

Oliver couldn't help but smile at her.

The home team on the screen scored a touchdown but no one seemed to either notice or care.

"Does your family cheer for the opposing team?"

"Dylan doesn't care for sports, my mother thinks they are a waste of time, my father thinks the players are seriously over paid, and my younger siblings only watch for half time shows."

"What about you?"

"I only like to play, but watching others can give you ideas on plays."

"That's one way for a family to watch a football game."

"It's usually full of arguments and useless chatter, but you get that in any household."

"Most families would have a team they follow."

"And most of those are based off of where they live or the city the were born in. Those are weak connections to a team and I would rather stick to being indifferent. That way there are no disappointments."

"I sincerely doubt that. No one can be so indifferent and care about nothing."

Aidan made no comment.

"Have you experienced disappointment, Ms Bailey?"

She turned to him, her face serious.

"Ollie, we should probably get going so the Baileys can go to sleep."

Oliver looked up and saw Sasha standing up with Dylan near by. Mr Bailey had fallen asleep and his wife was already gone.

He stood up and gave a nod to Aidan who had returned to looking at the screen.

Dylan walked the two to the door and said goodbye.

"I see you had a good time, Sasha."

"Oh Ollie, I so much fun. Dylan told me of the place I should visit and the family restaurants I should try."

"Is that what you were talking to him about the entire time?"

Sasha blushed, "Not really. He told me about the film he was making and that if I wanted I can be apart of it."

"I should warn you that your father won't allow it."

"Gosh Oliver, it's just a film project for school. Only his class and teacher will see it. Besides, his sister, Aidan is in it."

Oliver tried to hold in his smile, but Sasha saw it already, "It seems you two hit it off."

His smile then disappeared, "What, no!"

"Oh please, I haven't seen you that happy talking to any girl in my life, not even me. You always appears distant like you're afraid to get too close."

Oliver knew all to well what she was referring to. He always was cold to people and stayed to his objective; protecting Sasha. Sure they were friends, but it felt like she was putting more into the relationship then he ever did.

"So what did you two talk about?"

"Huh?"

"You and Aidan."

"It was her more trying to pick a fight I think."

"And you're trying to tell me that you didn't instigate her?"

"I'm telling you it was all her."

"Yeah, but you have a way of getting under people's skin. I've seen you do it before."

"Let's talk about something else please."

"Do you think she likes you?

Oliver spun around quickly, "What!?"

Oooo

"What!?"

"He must like you. You guys kept talking to each other the whole evening."

"How would you know, you were talking to Sasha the whole evening." They had been climbing the stairs for bed and stopped outside of her room. "Besides, I'm determined to hate him."

"Why?"

"Because," Aidan tried to think of an excuse, "he likes to make fun of me."

"What?" Laughed Dylan. "How so?"

"The way I dressed."

"You can hardly blame him for something you set yourself up for."

"So you're taking his side?"

"No, I'd like to think of myself as a neutral person."

"Course you would." Aidan said shaking her head.

"I invited Sasha to the shoot tomorrow."

"Dang, you guys sure do move fast."

"What no, I just wanted to show her around and I even asked if she wanted to play a small role."

"Wow, who would've thought that my brother would be getting himself a girlfriend this soon after a few meetings."

"It's not like we're dating. Just friends hanging out."

"I still call it a date."

The older Baileys arrived at the set early the next morning. Dylan wanted to meet with Isaac to discuss what they were to be filming today. Aidan waited with the few members of the crew that came around the same time as them. After twenty minutes, the whole crew had arrived and were preparing for the shoot.

"Take a look at the foxy mama that just walked in." Said one of the men who was seated beside Aidan.

Aidan turned around, Sasha was walking around the set looking a little lost. Aidan was about to go to her but she saw Oliver and turned back to her group.

"Dang, is that her boyfriend? They look like the perfect couple."

"No, they're just friends I hear." Aidan explained. She instantly regretting saying anything.

Everyone was looking to her now.

"You know those guys?"

She couldn't take back her words now, "I wouldn't say that I know them. They, or should I say the girl moved into my neighborhood a little over a week ago."

"Why are they on set?"

"Dylan invited her." She stressed the last word in hopes that the rest of them understood that the man was not to be welcomed.

"What, do you not like her or something?"

"No, he likes her. The guy I think is her purse or something. He tags along with her."

"Kinda like your stalker." Said one of the men with a grin.

Aidan arched her back and furrowed her brow.

"Stalker?"came a voice from behind her.

She spun around to see Oliver standing directly behind her.

Sasha gave a wave with a huge smile across her face. She apparently didn't hear what he had said.

"You heard wrong, he said stocker."

"Hey Aidan, where's your brother?" Asked Sasha not caring at all about their conversation.

"I'll take you to him if you like." Volunteered one of the men.

Sasha accepted and to Aidan's disappointment, Oliver stayed behind.

"I didn't know my brother invited you too."

"And I thought we had this conversation about who you are directing your conversation too. How am I to know if you're talking to me or not."

"You're perfectly right. I should just stop talking to you so as not to cause confusion." Aidan smirked.

When he smiled back her face went back to a frown. That only made him laugh and he addressed the rest of the group.

"Hi, my name is Omar."

"Careful he's lying."

"So you remember my name now, Ms Bailey?"

"Why bother if you are leaving soon."

"You expect me to be going somewhere?"

"My fingers are crossed."

"Don't worry, you'll be rid of me when my work here is done."

"So you're here for work then."

"Maybe."

Aidan was too annoyed to press him for a direct answer.

She was saved by her coworkers telling her it was time to start filming.

Oooo

Oliver could feel the danger of telling this girl too much information of his personal business. If she found out what he did, he had no doubt she would understand that he was here protecting Sasha.

Talking to her was so easy that he felt that he would slip up and tell her. The best thing for everyone would be for him to persuade Sasha to return to the city.

He followed the crew as they went to the current shoot being recorded.

Dylan and his friend were in seats behind the main screen with head phones.

After the clapper board went down did he see Sasha standing with Aidan. They were both dressed for a fancy dinner with their hair pinned up.

He thought they both looked really pretty, but his eyes seemed to linger on Aidan. Probably, he thought, it was because this was the first time he saw her not bedraggled.

He walked closer to the set without stepping into the scene.

Oliver peered over the shoulder of a crewman to see the character's names. Aidan was Deborah and he assumed that Sasha was the new friend Felicia.

"You came just in time Felicia. You shall seem some fun tonight."

"It was kind of you to invite me to come with you and let me borrow your dress."

"Oh please, it was nothing. My brother would have it no other way. Besides the dress looks a thousand times better on you."

Suddenly they were joined by two men; one was smiling brightly at them while the other was standing aloof.

Oliver checked their names; Adam and Josh.

"Felicia, you really look amazing tonight- not that you don't look nice everyday!" Blurted Adam.

He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Thank you Adam, it s all your sister's work."

"Hardly." Smiled Deborah.

"You must meet my old friend from college, Felicia." The moved back so the man behind him was in front. "This is Josh. Josh you know my sister, Deborah, and this is her friend Felicia. Felicia is staying with Deb for the spring."

The man nodded to both ladies but did not speak.

Eventually the party broke up and Adam took Felicia to dance.

Deborah stood a minute longer before walking across the room to another girl whose name was Margaret.

"Are you still not talking to him?" Asked Margaret.

"Why should I? I know it will only bring us both pain to talk. What would we even talk about?"

"Why not ask him."

Aidan frowned and turned to see Josh standing right behind her. She started at first but quickly gained her composure.

"Do you ever make noise?"

"Might I have the honor of dancing with you?"

"Honor?" Aidan snorted, but the. Realized that he was serious, "What, you want to dance for real?"

"If you don't mind."

Aidan looked to the other girl and back to Josh.

He offered his hand which she took and lead her to the dance floor.

They danced for some time before Aidan spoke.

"I got to ask, why did you ask me to dance?"

"I needed to talk to you about last night. What you heard."

"If you think I'm going to tell Adam, then you can rest easy. I'm not going to tell him that the old friend he thought was visiting was actually a con artist."

Her eyes were like daggers, staring up at the tall man holding her.

Oliver could feel the story falling into place. This was obviously the climax.

"Would you enjoy hurting a loved one by telling them that everything they thought was a lie?"

Oliver blinked several times. The words weren't directed to him, but he still felt the guilt.

The couple was broken up by the song ending and Aidan walked out of the room.

She alone in the dark hallway lit by a dying candle.

Sasha entered the room and put her hand on Aidan's shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

Aidan turned to face Sasha. There were tears in her eyes as she spoke.

"Oh Felicia, what should I do?"

The girls hugged and the clap board came down.

"And cut!"

Oooo

"Oh Aidan, you are really a natural." Exclaimed Sasha.

"Thank you, you did a great job yourself."

"Oh no, your brother just told me to be myself, I'm pretty sure I sounded like a robot."

"Not even. You are pretty good at memorizing lines too."

"Your brother let me borrow a script last night so I had some time to learn my character."

"Well you played Felicia well."

"I'm going to ask your brother if I can have a copy of the finished movie."

Sasha bounced off to go find Dylan.

Aidan exhaled and walked hurriedly over to the dressing room. She had ten minutes between scenes and wanted time to look over her lines.

"You're pretty good." Came a voice from behind.

She was too exhausted and focused to argue.

"Thanks."

He walked with her and she commented on this, "Are you going to follow me all the way into the dressing room?"

"Sorry, I'll go back to the rest of the group." He turned and went back in the direction they had came from.

Aidan watched him go thoroughly confused.

"I think today's shooting was great. We hardly did retakes and Sasha made a great actress."

Dylan was driving them back home after working the whole day on the movie.

"I'm glad you got some great cuts. I know Sasha had a great time, and I think this movie will be a hit." Aidan said with a tired grin.

"Thanks again for helping me and being one of my actresses."

"Happy to help, plus I might get famous off of this."

"I wouldn't say that."

"Why not? You and Isaac have been working on this for a year. I still remember you coming to me in a panic asking for me to help you write the movie."

"Yeah that was a rough couple of days."

They reached their house and went silently inside so as not to wake the house.

"I didn't know you invited Oliver today."

"So that's his name, and no I didn't invite him. Haven't you noticed he invites himself where no one wants him?"

"Aidan."

"I guess that was harsh even for that guy."

"Well that guy said you did an excellent job and looked beautiful."

Aidan checked her brother's expression to see if he was joking.

"He was probably making fun of me again."

"No, I saw him watching you very closely. He looked like he was in a trance…or love struck."

"Ew, Dylan no. I don't even know the guy. The last thing I need is another stalker. Besides me and him are destined rivals."

Dylan only shook his head.

Oooo

"Oliver, I should just become an actress."

"What?" Asked Oliver choking on his coffee.

"If I become an actress and Dylan becomes a director then we can do films together. With Aidan as the writer, we will be making the best romance movies ever!"

"I think you didn't get enough sleep last night. You mean to tell me Aidan wrote the story that Dylan is making into a movie?"

"The crew says they are the dynamic duo. Pretty cool huh?"

"Yeah." Oliver said under his breath. He was too busy thinking about the script now.

They say that an artist revealed themselves in their work, he wondered which part of the script had a little part of Aidan's story in it.

"I'm going to go to the store if you want to come."

"Huh, no I'm good."

"Working?"

"Yeah."

"Maybe I should be a freelance consultant like you. That we I can be my own boss."

"And what about you being an actress?" Oliver grinned.

"On the side of course."

Sasha grabbed her things and was soon gone.

Oliver let out a sigh and went into his room and closed the door.

Pulling out his suitcase, he found his laptop and turned it on.

He stuck his Bluetooth in his ear and pushed the 3on his speed dial.

After the third ring a rough voice came over the hearing end.

"You're late."

"Sorry, your daughter just left for the store."

"I'm talking about the fact that you haven't made the report earlier."

"Yes, Sasha had me go with her to all the neighbor dinners and then she wanted to help a friend with his movie."

"Friend?"

"Yes, she friended a guy named Dylan Bailey. He's 27 and is in grad school and is currently trying to become a director. Totally harmless with no record."

"His family?"

"Mother stays at home, the father works at the local library, the second eldest is a writer and the younger siblings are students at the community college."

"What about the other neighbors?"

"She hasn't talked to them since meeting them, only the Baileys."

"Because of this boy."

"That's what I'm guessing sir."

"You said she was helping him with a movie?"

"Yes, he is currently making a movie and asked her if she wanted to be in it."

"And what type of movie is this?"

"A romance, but her character was so small all her scenes were done in a day. She was not compromised and I think you'd be proud, sir."

"Hm, and when is she to come home?

"I haven't found a reason yet that she shouldn't stay here, sir."

"I'm not paying you to stall."

"I know sir, but what exactly am I telling her?."

"It doesn't have to be the truth, you haven't been honest with her since the beginning."

"Yes sir."

"Then I expect her here in at most a few weeks."

"Yes sir."

The other end of the line went dead and Oliver let out a sigh.

He wanted to at least keep from lying to Sasha further then he had to. Sometimes he wondered why he took this job.

A sound from outside the room made him rush to put his things away. When he finished he went to check on the noise.

He was shocked to see Dylan and only Dylan standing in the kitchen with a movie in his hand.

"Sorry, I asked Sasha if she wanted me to drop it off and she said it would be okay if I did it now since you were home."

"How did you get in."

"The front door was unlocked."

Oliver frowned and he was glad that the younger man seemed to become nervous.

"Do you usually come into people's houses when they aren't home?"

"This is that kind of neighborhood where everyone knows everyone and we sometimes don't even knock and we just come in."

Oliver decided to let the topic drop and addressed the package in his hand.

"What's that?"

"I wanted to give Sasha a copy where she was in the movie."

"Thanks, she'll like it."

Dylan handed Oliver the movie and was about to leave when he spoke again, "I heard your sister wrote the story you're making into a film."

"It's good isn't?"

"How did she come up with the story?"

"She love romance novels and is a Pride and Prejudice fanatic."

Oliver couldn't help but didn't know why, but it seemed to fit her perfectly.

"Well I better go, see you around Oliver."

"Bye."

Oliver saw Dylan out and then shut the door, paused and then locked the door.

A/N: Will Oliver take Sasha back to the city? Will Aidan ever like Oliver? Will Dylan and Sasha ever fall in love? How long has this story been going on for? I can answer the last one-it was 2 weeks before the summer bash and then a week before the dinner with the Baileys: Dylan and Sasha went to the movie in between that period, and a few days for Dylan and Isaac's movie and delivering it to them the next day. So almost 4 weeks. Your reviews are always welcome.


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